Defender’s office asks the STF to reject the PGR’s complaint against Eduardo Bolsonaro

The Federal Public Defender’s Office (DPU) presented, this Friday, the 31st, the defense of federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) on charges of coercion due to his actions in the United States made in a complaint by the Attorney General’s Office (PGR). The DPU requests the rejection of the complaint.

In defense, the DPU says that the accusation presented by the PGR does not demonstrate that Eduardo has the power to carry out the economic sanctions imposed by American President Donald Trump on Brazil. The public defender’s office took over the deputy’s defense since he did not appoint a lawyer to handle the case.

“The Defendant does not have decision-making power over the foreign policy of the United States. He does not have the authority to impose or remove economic sanctions. He is not part of the North American government. He does not hold a public office in that country”, he says. “Acts of a foreign government are an expression of national sovereignty and do not result from the determination of a Brazilian parliamentarian.”

Furthermore, the DPU requests the nullity of the process since Eduardo’s conduct would have been directed against the minister reporting the case at the Federal Supreme Court (STF), Alexandre de Moraes.

The defense also said that it was unable to contact the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and was unable to obtain his version of the events.

“With the accused absent and without means of contacting him, the technical defense is prevented from preparing an effective defense. The DPU is unable to obtain his version of the facts, documents or guidance on defensive strategy”, he said.

Last week, Moraes rejected the DPU’s request to notify Eduardo Bolsonaro by letter rogatory.

The letter rogatory is used to comply with decisions or steps taken in a process outside Brazil. The DPU argues that, as the deputy is in the United States, he should be notified in the country. The procedure depends on the cooperation of American authorities, which makes it longer. Furthermore, a possible request could face difficulties in the Donald Trump administration.

“There is no doubt that the accused, even though he maintains his domicile in the national territory, is creating difficulties in being notified”, added the minister.

The Ethics Committee of the Chamber of Deputies also had difficulties in notifying the deputy while a representation against him was being processed in the collegiate, even though it maintained an office in operation in the Legislative House itself.

Because of this, Eduardo’s defense in the commission was also carried out by the DPU. In this episode, the commission decided to archive the representation against the parliamentarian. The PT, author of the action, asked for Eduardo’s impeachment also due to the parliamentarian’s actions, who claimed that he was working on American soil to impose the country’s sanctions on the STF and the Brazilian government.

The rapporteur of this case, deputy Delegado Marcelo Freitas (União-MG), used the same allegation as the DPU, that Eduardo is not capable of influencing the decisions of an American country, to request the archiving.